


A Swoon-Worthy Kiss

by QuinTalon



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bets & Wagers, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Hermione is the same age as the Marauders, Idiots in Love, Kissing Booths, Meddling Friends, Mistletoe, Mutual Pining, No Voldy AU, dares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:55:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27748627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuinTalon/pseuds/QuinTalon
Summary: A sprig of mistletoe, a kissing booth, a dare, a bet, and a swoon-worthy kiss were all it took for Sirius to win the witch he’d been longing for.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Hermione Granger
Comments: 40
Kudos: 104
Collections: The Marauders Advent 2020





	A Swoon-Worthy Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> Written for The Marauders Advent 2020. My character was Sirius Black and my prompt was Mistletoe Kissing Booth. Thank you Frumpologist for hosting this fest - I had a blast writing this!
> 
> All my thanks to NuclearNik for reading this over for me on short notice. She's the best and I love her.

* * *

* * *

A delighted laugh sounded above the noise of the Great Hall, drawing Sirius’s attention. His grey eyes narrowed as he watched riotous curls bounce along the back of the girl a few yards away, her hand coming up to playfully push against the shoulder of the boy standing next to her, who was looking much too smug for Sirius’s liking. 

A low growl slipping from his tightly pressed lips, Sirius turned his full attention to the Ravenclaw leaning in to whisper into Hermione Granger’s ear. 

As if feeling the icy glare, Michael Mortimer glanced towards the irate wizard, his eyes widening at the snarl on Sirius’s face. 

“Oi, mate! A little help here.”

Sirius sent once last death glare to Mortimer and turned back to Peter to find him draped in mistletoe and ribbons, shooting him an expectant look.

It was the evening before the Christmas fete and the Great Hall was a flurry of activity as the stalls, games, and decorations were put in place. As was tradition, the 7th year students were hosting the event, members of each House working together to create a day of fun and food for the younger students and professors.

Sirius was currently supposed to be helping Peter set up the Mistletoe Kissing Booth, while Remus and James sat at a nearby table, helpfully _supervising_ the other two wizards. He went back to work, charming the sign into place so Peter could hammer in the nails.

“A bit more to the left there, Pads!” James called out. He and Remus snickered at the crude hand gesture Sirius threw at them behind his back.

Another peal of laughter once more drew Sirius’s attention to Hermione and that prattish Ravenclod. The grip on his wand tightened.

* * *

  
  


James watched with a mixture of amusement and exasperation as Sirius lost control of the simple spell holding the sign up, causing it to slip and bang loudly onto the top of Peter’s head. Sirius seemed to barely notice, his full concentration on a certain bushy-haired witch.

Again.

Hermione spun around at the sudden noise and rushed over to check on Peter, berating Sirius all the while. 

James shook his head. The two of them were constantly at odds, arguing and verbally sparring whenever they were in proximity of each other. It was never anything truly hurtful, more like the two enjoyed riling the other up.

Remus sighed beside him. “Padfoot is pining again, Prongs.”

“That he is, Moony. That he is.”

Rolling his eyes, James looked on as Sirius puffed up his chest when Mortimer walked over to help Peter and he could hear Sirius taunting the Ravenclaw, calling him Mickey, a nickname James knew the wizard hated. That set Hermione off again and the two drew closer to each other as they volleyed mild insults and quips at a rapid pace.

“Those two need to just snog and get it over with. Sirius is becoming almost as bad as you were with Lily.”

“Excuse me? I was never—” James cut off at deadpan expression Remus was bestowing on him. He sighed. “Yeah, alright. I was pathetic at times, I’ll admit. But I won my fair maiden’s heart in the end. Now, we just need to help Sirius do the same.”

Both wizards once again turned to watch their friend bicker with the oblivious girl that had won his heart.

A slender arm wound around one of James’s as Lily sat beside him, Marlene taking a seat on the redhead’s other side.

Lily laced their fingers together and gave a gentle squeeze, resting her chin on his shoulder. “What are you plotting, James?”

Pressing a hand to his chest in mock offense, James gasped. “Me? Plotting? Why, I never.”

“I’ve shared a common room with you for over six years now. We’ve all learned to be wary when you have _that_ ,” she gestured to his face, “expression. Now, what are you up to?”

“Trying to find a way to help old Pads either get over his pathetic pining or get himself the girl.”

“What gir—Hermione?”

James nodded. “Poor lad has been completely besotted by her since fifth, and he’s been pouting ever since she turned him down last year.”

Scrunching her nose in confusion, Lily asked, “When did she turn him down?”

“You were there, Lils. He asked her to the last Hogsmeade weekend of the year and she shut him down.”

Lily rolled her eyes while Marlene gaped at him. “Are you telling me that him leaping onto the table during breakfast the day of and yelling at Hermione to ‘do herself a favor’ and go with him to Hogsmeade was a legitimate request?”

“Well, yeah. Obviously.”

Marlene let out a disbelieving laugh. “How was that obvious? You lot were laughing and egging him on. Everyone thought it was a joke.”

James scoffed, but Lily leaned in, her expression serious.

“Everyone, James. Including Hermione. Did you not notice that she wasn’t in Hogsmeade that day or at dinner that night? She played it off at the time, but she was hurt and embarrassed by it.”

James glanced at Remus and felt his heart drop at his friend’s paling face. 

Lily continued. “If he had just calmly asked her like a normal bloke, she would have tripped over herself to say yes. But he embarrassed her in front of the entire school out of the blue. He never acted like he was interested in her before.”

“But he flirted with her all the time!”

It was Lily’s turn to scoff. “Please, he always sounds like he’s flirting. Merlin, half the time it even sounds like he’s flirting with you lot.”

Twin cries of “Oi!” sounded from the offended wizards.

Marlene chuckled. “It’s true! There were rumors about Sirius and Remus back in fourth and then Sirius and James in fifth.” She waved her hand dismissively. “But that’s beside the point.” She pinned both wizards with a look that clearly stated she demanded their full attention. “The point is that since then, Hermione has done everything she can to hide the fact that she actually fancied Sirius. Still fancies, I should say. That witch has had it bad for him for the past few years, but she never thought he’d look at her that way.”

Remus huffed. “So you’re saying that our two friends, who are usually fairly competent—” 

“Hermione much more so than Sirius,” James cut in.

“Well, yes. That’s a given.” Remus agreed with a quick wave of his hand. “That the two of them have actually been pining after each other all the while thinking the other has no interest?”

Lily and Marlene nodded in unison.

Remus blinked twice before erupting into laughter. “Those idiots. Of course the one girl he gets serious about is just as oblivious to Sirius’s feelings as he is to hers. All that time he spent perfecting what he was going to say to her and she thought it was a joke. It’s almost poetic.” He wiped a tear from his eye and turned to his friends. “So, what are we going to do?”

James cast his eyes over to Sirius and Hermione, who were now silently working side by side tying mistletoe to the garland covering the Kissing Booth, and grinned wickedly. “It’s simple. We just have to take advantage of the opportunity before us.”

* * *

  
  


Sirius leaned against the booth, winking at a group of witches that walked past, smugly grinning at the giggles and blushes it caused. The fete had been going strong for a few hours and the Marauders were currently manning the Mistletoe Kissing Booth. 

They had had a steady stream of witches, and a few wizards, eager to partake in the offered affection from the four pranksters, though James was quick to say his lips were for Lily only. He was happy to peck cheeks and give hugs to those interested, and somehow he actually had the most requests. Apparently, he was a good hugger and word had spread. He’d had a parade of students from first year to seventh wanting to receive a hug from him.

Sirius planned to take the mickey out of him for it later. And for many, many days to follow.

His grin slid into a smirk when a familiar group of witches approached the booth. “Well, hello ladies. Come to sample the goods?”

Lily and Marlene chuckled while Hermione rolled her eyes. 

Sirius waggled his eyebrows at her and with an extended hand ushered them into the booth. “After you, my dears. You have your pick of the finest Gryffindor has to offer. We’ve been sure to steadily apply lip balm to keep our lips soft and kissable, just for you.”

Marlene snorted then batted her eyes and cooed in an affected voice as she made a point to look the boys over. “My, my. However will we choose?”

“Easy,” Sirius drawled with a cheeky grin. “Just kiss the most handsome wizard in the booth.”

Lily raised an eyebrow at him and then stepped around Sirius into the waiting arms of her boyfriend. James beamed at her and leaned in for a kiss, but Lily ducked her head and wrapped her arms around him instead. “I heard someone in here was refusing kisses and giving out life-changing hugs instead. I had to experience it for myself.”

James grinned widely and pulled back to look down at her. “Life-changing, huh? You’ve definitely lucked out then since I’m only offering hugs for today to anyone who wants them.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “But you, my love, are blessed with the opportunity to get them anytime and as often you wish.”

Lily fought a smile as she leaned up to finally claim a kiss. James quickly took advantage and pulled her tightly against him, deepening the kiss.

Sirius groaned along with the others, all having witnessed the couple losing themselves in each other too many times. So many times, in fact, that they had instituted a time limit on how long they could kiss before they had to either stop or leave. “Two-minute rule, Prongs! You can ravish your witch later when you are far, far away from us.”

James ignored him.

Marlene sighed then shooed Sirius out of the way and sauntered over to Remus. Sirius saw his friend’s eyes widen as Marlene cupped his face and slanted her lips against his. She pulled back and patted his cheek. “Not bad, Lupin.”

Hermione stood at the entrance of the booth, her eyes everywhere but on Sirius. Marlene turned and teased her. “Well, Hermione. Who do you think is the best looking bloke here? Anyone deserving of your kiss?”

Determination flared in Hermione’s eyes, taking the dare for what it was. She took her time running her eyes over each wizard, tapping her finger against her bottom lip as if contemplating the merits of each.

Sirius willed his heart to stop racing when she took a step towards him, her eyes running the length of him again. He forced a confident smirk, hoping she could not see his sudden nervousness. His brain stuttered to a stop when she smiled, then his thoughts spun out of control.

Was this really happening? Was she going to kiss him? Merlin, his hands were clammy and he could feel perspiration dotting his hairline. Did his breath smell okay? Could she really be choosing—

Peter. Hermione was kissing Peter. She had taken a half-step closer and then spun to press her lips to Peter’s. 

It wasn’t a long kiss, just a quick peck on the lips, but to Sirius, it felt like a lifetime. 

Peter was blushing a vibrant red when Hermione pulled away. She breathed a quiet thank you in his ear before sashaying out of the booth with a parting wink to Sirius.

His eyes followed her until she was out of sight, a slow smirk stretching his lips. “Cheeky witch.”

He missed the irritated _tsk_ from Marlene and the calculating look in James’s eye.

* * *

  
  


Hours later, the Marauders were laughingly jostling each other as they made their way through the other booths of the fete. They had been relieved of their duties by a few of the seventh year Hufflepuffs not long after the girls left and had since spent a happy afternoon sampling the food and challenging each other at each game stall. So far, Sirius and James were tied for first, Remus being a close second, and Peter trailing just behind. Who knew he was so good at ring toss and whack-a-niffler?

They had finally made the full circuit and were once again approaching the Kissing Booth. James cast a quick _Tempus_ and with a glint in his eye happily announced, “My ethereal beauty of a girlfriend should still be working the booth. Let’s go visit her and the girls, eh lads?.”

Without waiting for an answer, James strutted quickly to the booth, leaving the others behind. Sirius could hear him calling out, “Sweet Lilybug, your dashing knight is here to sweep you off your feet. Give us a kiss, love!” He rolled his eyes.

He was not all surprised to see James and Lily wrapped around each other once they made it to the booth. 

Marlene grinned at the wizards, her arms crossed as she leaned against the booth post. “Back to sample the goods, boys?”

Sirius smirked and stuffed his hands into his back pockets. “Sure you can handle us, McKinnon?”

“Oh, I’m sure I can handle Remus again.” She blew a kiss to the blushing werewolf. “And Peter seemed to know what he was doing earlier. Not sure about you though.” She looked over her shoulder to Hermione and Alice, gesturing to Sirius with her thumb. “Either of you willing to suffer through this one?”

Sirius tilted his head with a flirty smirk, his eyes falling on Hermione. “Not sure the caliber of partners you’ve had in here so far, but I’ve been known to cause witches to swoon with just one kiss.”

Marlene snorted. “Just one kiss, huh? I don’t believe it.” 

With a lazy shrug, Sirius crossed his arms. “Only one way to find out.”

“Alright. I think you need to put your money where your mouth is then, so to speak.”

Sirius chuckled and patted his pocket. “Don’t worry, I’ve enough coin to make each of you swoon. Multiple times, if you wish. Who wants me first?” 

He took a step closer just as James and Lily finally came up for air. Not thinking they had been paying attention at all, Sirius was surprised when James snarked, “What, you’re just going to go down the line and kiss each one? How very efficient.”

“Oh, sod off and go back to delving the depths of Lily’s mouth.”

“You should make it more challenging.” James snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it! We should blindfold you.”

Sirius rolled his eyes. “Don’t really need my eyes to snog, mate. Don’t see how that makes it more challenging.”

Remus chuckled beside him and nodded. “Oh, but it does. You forget that you expounded on your perfected, no-fail kissing technique not two weeks ago. In great detail and volume.” He cleared his throat and spoke in a horrible attempt at Sirius’s voice. “Step one: flip your hair.”

“Step two:” Peter supplied, “lean in slowly.”

James grinned. “Step three: lock eyes with her the entire time, hold for two seconds then slowly drag your eyes down to her lips.”

“Step four: Once her eyes drop down to your lips, lick them and let out a soft breath. Then meet her eyes again. Because it’s—” Peter and James chimed in with Remus “—all about the anticipation!”

Sirius glared as his friends laughed and the girls giggled. “Fine. Blindfold me. Five galleons says I can still make any witch swoon.”

James nodded. “I’ll take that bet. We get to pick the witch and you have two minutes to make her swoon.”

“Deal.”

Remus pulled out his wand and muttered _Obscuro_. Instantly a soft black blindfold covered Sirius’s eyes. The spell was well-cast and he was not able to see anything. He could hear muted whispers and shuffling, then nothing beyond the general noise of the Great Hall.

He stood silently for a few moments before shoes slapped against the stone floor as if someone had stumbled or been pushed, followed by an exasperated huff. Another beat of silence, then small hands gently grabbed both of his. He gave them a quick squeeze before letting go.

Trailing his hands slowly up the jumper covered arms and shoulders, Sirius brushed his fingers against the witch’s neck feeling her pulse speed up. He cupped her face and slowly leaned in to run his lips along her cheek, stopping at the corner of her mouth. He repeated his actions on her other cheek before softly pressing his lips to hers.

The kiss started gently, the lightest of touches before Sirius slanted his lips more firmly to hers. He is in full control and feeling somewhat cocky when slightly trembling hands wind into his hair. But then the witch’s tongue peeked out and grazed his lip so delicately, he could not hold back a gasp. Taking advantage of the moment, she pressed fully into his mouth.

And then Sirius was lost. He forgot the bet, forgot the time limit, forgot his own name for a second.

This was the best kiss of his life and he never wanted it to end. He was being consumed by her and by Merlin, he was loving it.

He pulled the witch tighter to him with a low growl, wrapping one arm around her waist and deepening the kiss. He reveled in the soft moan this elicited from her and let loose one of his own.

Sirius vaguely heard someone calling “Time!” followed by whooping and whistling. The witch pulled back, placing one last chaste kiss on his swelling lips. She tried to step away, but he refused to let her go.

Shaking his head, Sirius needed a moment to clear his kiss addled brain. Merlin and all the Founders, he was panting and lightheaded and weak in the knees. He fumbled for his wand, cast a hasty _Finite_ , and looked down to see Hermione staring up at him with wide eyes.

Her lips were pink and swollen from the kiss, her cheeks flushed. She had never looked lovelier.

“You,” he managed to rasp out.

Hermione swallowed and then nodded. “Me.”

Without taking his eyes off of her, Sirius dug into his pocket and pulled out five galleons, tossing them to a smug James. At the curious lift of Hermione's eyebrows, Sirius shrugged. “I’m man enough to admit when I’ve lost a bet.” He leaned in and whispered into her ear, “Pretty sure I’m the one who swooned.”

The blush of her cheek deepened to a lovely shade of red, and Sirius smirked, tucking an errant curl behind her ear. Not willing to let this chance slip by, he confessed, “I’ve wanted to kiss you for the longest time, Hermione.”

A look of uncertainty crossed her face before it shifted to something akin to hope. Hermione bit her lip and shyly murmured, “Me, too.”

Relief and elation rushed through him. Attempting to keep the goofy grin from spreading further, Sirius ran a knuckle softly against her cheek. “Go with me to Hogsmeade next weekend?”

The word yes had never sounded so good.

* * *

  
  


After enduring hours with their group of friends as they meandered through the village, Sirius was finally able to pull Hermione away. This was the first of hopefully many, many dates with her and he was anxious to get her alone. 

They had spent what time they could together between classes, but he had been looking forward to this for a long time.

Pulling her behind him, Sirius guided Hermione to the edge of Hogsmeade and down the path towards the Shrieking Shack. He took a side trail to a clearing the Marauders had discovered on one of their many moonlit adventures and led her to a tree with low hanging branches brushing the ground. 

They ducked underneath, and Sirius grinned at Hermione’s delighted gasp. Protected from the elements, the hidden area remained dry throughout the year. The heating charms Sirius had cast earlier that morning when he snuck out to prepare for their date were holding strong, creating a cozy space. Dangling from the branches were hundreds of fairy lights, illuminating the secluded space. A blanket was spread out on the ground and a basket full of snacks and drinks waited nearby. 

“Sirius, how did you…” Hermione shook her head at his mischievous smirk. “You know what, I don’t want to know. As a prefect, plausible deniability is probably best when it comes to you.”

Chuckling, he helped her to sit. After getting them both situated comfortably, Sirius surreptitiously flicked his wand. “Wow, would you look at that.”

Pointing above them, he drew Hermione’s attention to a large sprig of mistletoe overloaded with berries floating above them. “You know,” he drawled. “Tradition states that a couple should kiss until all the berries are gone.”

Hermione laughed with a shake of her head. “I don’t think that’s quite right.”

Pulling her closer, Sirius shrugged. “Pretty sure that’s how it goes. There are quite a few berries, so we should get started.”

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Hermione asked, “Still trying to make me swoon?” 

Sirius leaned in. “I think it might just be my life’s goal.” 

The words were teasing, but his tone was a promise and he sealed it with a kiss.


End file.
